1. Curriculum for Excellence: S3 and beyond
Ronnie Summers
Head Teacher
Musselburgh Grammar School
September 2012
27/03/2017

2. Information for parents - review
2010/11 –
S1 arrive August 2010, briefing parents Sept 2010, June 2011 for S2
2011/12
S2 commences June 2011; briefing Feb 2012
April 2012 SQA documentation for N2- Higher
2012/13
S3 commences June 2012; briefing Sept 2012
Profiles, final year of Broad General Education
27/03/2017

3. External information SQA leaflet “Qualifications are Changing” Feb12
Mike Russell letter to S3 parents August 2012
Broad General Education leaflet published
CFE Briefing 3: Profiling and the S3 Profile
Expansion of Parentzone website –
27/03/2017

4. Why S3 is important – part 1
Final year of Broad General Education
Summative assessment using CFE Level 3 and 4 outcomes and experiences
No external examination for National 3 &4 qualific.
Thus constant sustained best work is required to achieve potential in S3 and be presented at the correct level in S4 – solid base in S3
Portfolios of work and projects often as part of added value units in S4
27/03/2017

5. Why S3 is important – part 2
National 5 – external assessment (exam!) where you need to have facts at your fingertip and be used to working at pace – solid base in S3
Attendance affects attainment (1:3 vs 1:19)
Homework done and done well
“Opportunity for success and the possibility of failure” – learn from mistakes and why you got it wrong
Parents’ Meeting Thursday 29th November
27/03/2017

6. Assessment in S3
Not based on one piece of evidence only, so similar to S1 and S2
Evidence – from solo work in class, contribution to group and class work, oral responses and written responses, redrafted work
Developing, consolidating, secure
Breadth, depth and application – 3 dimensional model helpful
27/03/2017

7. 27/03/2017

8. Changes – new S3 Profile
All schools to produce this for S3 pupils, but no one model to follow
Capture achievements in and out of school, not just academic progress:
Essentially “strengths”, not “next steps”
Preparation for this in PSE – “reflective pupil”
Learning conversations with staff, pupil driven
Release date of S3 profile still to be decided
S3 report at end of year
27/03/2017

9. Changes -
Currently, Foundation (N3) General (N4) and Credit (N5) tested by external examination
Only N5 tested by external examination
No S3 examinations though some departments may hold class tests to gather extra information
Working on National courses from Easter 2013
S4 preliminary examinations for N5 pupils in November(?) 2013,no exam leave for all pupils
Remember you can contact Guidance anytime
27/03/2017

10. Progression to qualifications
Broad general education S1-3 to Broad certificated general education in S4 Senior Phase
Parental advice to us – keep qualifications broad, not narrow
So, all will have an award in English (including Literacy), Mathematics (including Numeracy) and Religious and Moral Education
5 Subjects chosen in S3 continue into S4 (enhancement column subject dropped)
8 qualifications in S4 to 5 qualifications in S5
27/03/2017

11. SQA documentation April 2012
SQA website shares all documents openly
Gives teachers information about a subject course – course specification, unit details, course details and assessment details
Helps staff plan the work for S3 knowing what is to follow in S4 and see the type of assessments being used; know the nature of the added value unit and how long the external assessment is
27/03/2017

12. Example - National 4 English
4 mandatory Units: Analysis and Evaluation; Creation and Production; Literacy; Added Value Unit – assignment.
Developing skills in reading and listening, writing and talking
No external examination.
Course is pass or fail – must pass ALL units
Internally marked and externally moderated by SQA-trained moderator
27/03/2017

13. National 5 English 2 Units plus External Assessment (1 paper)
Analysis and Evaluation, Creation and Production – both more demanding than N4 work – leading to 2 pieces for Portfolio.
External paper worth 70 marks – questions on an unseen text(30); 2 questions on texts(2x20) which have been studied in class.
Graded A-D pass on quality of work.
27/03/2017

14. Any general questions?
(Happy to talk about individual pupil progress in S3 face to face afterwards)
Thank you for coming tonight!